Stewart



(Nomaden l W. W. STEWART. RESERVOIR PEN HOLDER.

Patented vFeb 28 ple whohavei'requenl but of the water in the ink and I UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

WILLIAM lV. STEWART., OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK..

RESERVOIR PEN-HOLDER.

srncrrrea'rron forming coupled with the fact that the sediments caused Y to be depositedby evaporation and oxidation will uotredissolvein their own fluids, have been heretofore the obstacle to the successful use of reservoir pen-holders by the great mass of peonotconstantoccasion for the useof such pens. reservoir pen-holders also encounters another obstacle in the capillary attnaction of the walls of the ink-chamber, whereby the dow and discharge of ink isk iinpeded. 4The evaporation sedimentis in a measure prevented by the formation of froth or small bubbles of air and inky huid in the reservoir or ink-chambers. This froth is wet or saturated air, and it is interposed between the ink-fluid and the comparativel y dry air which iills those spaces in the holder which are not occupied by liquid.k

It is desirable to retain this froth in contact with the ink-fluid and interposed between it and the dry air above, and this has heretofore been done by separating the inkreservoir into. several compartments with na row communieating passages, and the capii ary attraction in the reservoir itself and in the ink-tubeexterior to thc reservoir have been neutralized by placing automatic :agitators within such spaces. V

It is necessary to adapt a fountain-pen to the variant usa ge of many di ft'eren t persons, and to a considerable extent to variations of the quality of the inks employed. I have therefore found that the pen is made more uniformly re liable by au agitator placed in the froth or air tube, and by a thread or strand'of some per meable material placed lengthwise through the init-chamber, so that the movement ot bubbles of air upward through said chamber will cause a break in the continuity of the ink-current downward, because the permeable thread will The practical use. of

the deposition oi" part of Letters Patent No. 254,175, dated February 28, 1.882- Application tiled March 16, 1&181. (No modell) cause the duid to cling and actually ,ferm-'in itself aduct from wh ich the air will be -Sslnded. That others may more fully undertitand my invention and a practical mode of carrying it into practice, I will more particularly desribe it, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Y Figure 1 represents my invention in lungi tudinal central section. Fig. 2 is a similar Sntion of the lower end enlarged. Figs, 3, 4, i5, and 6 are details detached. A is the barrel or reservoir of my pen-.holden provided at its lower end vith the point-section B and the ink'tube I). The point-,section is provided with a tubular plug, i),whioh conf stitutes an inkchamber, E, from which the immediate'supply ior the pen 'is discharged through the tube b. The capillary wire F passes upward from the peu through thc tube b and the chamber E,and terminates in alittle -coil or other mode oi' fastening at the top or do not require to be rel are impermeable to the ink, and therefore there is no more adhesion of the ink than always exists between a tluid and surface not actually oily or repellent; but the ink, may be readily separated from the walls and the wire by the presence of air-bubbles, which will sometimes accumulate in such quantity that the ow'ot' the ink will be impeded or actually prevented. To overcome this difficulty I stretch throlgh the ink-chamber a strand or thread ct' some permeable fibersuch as twisted cord, woody strand ot' broom, or other suitable material-- which, being saturated with ink, will afford a gripe for the same which cannot be broken by the presence' of air-bubbles, because the continuity will extend into the liber where the air will not penetrate. Thisstrand is shown indicated in the drawings by the dotted lineG; and even though the whole interior |diam er of the chamber E should be occupied by an air-bubble, the cord `G would constitute a continuous duct for thc passage of ink the bubble.

The discharge of ink upon the peu must be through IOC and it is therefore important to preserve the small quantity of ink in the chamber E in a quiescent state. Itis also important to preserve a portion of froth or inky bubbles ot' saturated air between it and the larger quantity in the main reservoir A, in order to prevent undue evaporation iu said chamber, as well as to preserve an elastic air-cushion between said bodies ot' ink. The contracted passages 1:,eomn1unieating between said larger chamber or reservoirA and the smaller or froth chamber lt, suftices to preserve thiscushion of froth or inky bubbles; but when the ink is a little more viscid thf' v it ought to be,orif, from any cause, there h. ,been slight deposition of sediment, the bnbtnes may cling with such t pertinaeityand increase to such anexteutas to eectually separate the ink in chamber R from that in chamber A. The inkinchamberE will then become expended, and the pen will cease to write, and will continue to ret'use until the holder has been shaken with sufficient violence, to break up the obstructing bubble and permit the ink to flow again.

Au automatic agitator placed in the frothtubc is effectual in preventing the arrest and coalescence of the little air'bubbles, and the simplest form of such agitator is a. small weight, H, at thffe end ofa delicate elastic stem, i. Said weight and stem may be of any metal or material which possesses the requisite elasticity, and Yis non-corrodible hy the fluid ofthe ink.

The stem i may be secured or held in place in many ways. I represent two which are effectual and convenient-first, by forming the end of said stem in a coil in diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the tube in which it is to be placed. When forced into this tube the expansion of the coil will hold it. firmly in place. This mode is shown in Fig. 3. In Figs. 1, 4, and 5 the stem t' is shown held in an orifice in a little perforated button ordisk,

' m, which is fitted to said tube.

The froth-chamber S is common in pens of this class, and does not require description herein. I find it advantageous, however, to

, place an agitator, II, in this chamber as well as iu chamber R, to prevent the formation of large bubbles.

When the holder is new and has been empty of inl; for some time the walls become dry, and to a degree moisture-repellent. Under these circumstances the ink will not flow with regularity for aiineor until the walls andinclosed d air havejb'eome thoroughly moistcned. It will-'sometimes flow too freely, and again in insufficient quantity. To obviate the Ievil effect of this unequal flow when the pen is used infrequently, I make a jacket, N, preferably et' gold-but other non-corrodiblo ma-y teiial will (lo-aud place it outside o'f the inktube and beneath the pen, as shown in Fig.2. Thisjacket may be constructed to tit the pengroove g, and it serves to catch and hold the surplus or escaping' ink which overows from the tube and delivers it to the pen.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. In a reservoir pen-holder, a pen and an ink-tube arranged to delive` ink on its concave side, combined with the ink-chamber of the same, and one or more threads of permeable fibrous material arranged lengthwise in said chamber beneath the pen,forthe purpose set forth.

2. In a reservoir pen-holder provided with au ink-chamber at its lower end, and combined with the same, a capillary wire, F, and a fibrous permeable thread or strand, G, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A fountain pen hoiiler provided with a pen and ink-tube, b, whereby the ink is delivered to said pen, combined with an exterior jacket, N, substantially as set forth.

4. lhe-con1biuation,in areservoirpen'hold er, of an ink-chamber, E, at the lower end of said holder, provided with a capillarywire, F, and permeable thread or strand G, inclosed in said chamber, and one or mozo i'roth-chambers above said ink-chamber, provided with automatic agitators within said froth-spaces, as and for the purpose set forth.

\VILLIAM \V. STEVVAR'I.

Witnesses:

1). A. Savas, G. H. TRACY. 

